Pirates, Shamrocks honor Trent Bengel

The Pewamo-Westphalia boys basketball team improved to 10-0 in Central Michigan Athletic Conference play with its 65-26 win over Portland St. Patrick.

Although fans of both schools cheered on their teams on the court, on Friday night, the outcome of the game was secondary to players, coaches and spectators.

The communities came together and filled the gym at Portland Middle School to remember P-W eighth grader Trent Bengel, who passed away two weeks ago after a three-year battle with brain cancer.With so many family members and friends coming together, Bengel's parents, Randy and Terri Bengel said they really appreciate the outpouring of love and support they have received.

"It's just overwhelming," Randy said. "We just want to give thanks to the communities for their support and love.

Almost everybody in the stands were donned in green and white, honoring Trent by wearing the colors of his favorite college team, Michigan State. There was also a teddy bear toss at half time where fans threw new stuffed animals onto the court. All toys will be donated to Grand Rapids Hospice and Helen Devos Children's Hospital.

Before and after the halftime event, both the P-W and St. Pats student sections began chants of "pray for the Bengels" and "We love Trent."

St. Pats Principal Randy Hodge said they received over 700 stuffed animals from the toss.

As for the game itself, the Pirates took control early, using a 16-0 run to take a 22-2 first-quarter lead.

P-W held the Shamrocks without a field goal for almost 15 minutes until St. Pats senior Collin Lay drained a shot with 1:20 left in the second quarter.

At the half, the Pirates held a 37-10 advantage.

"Our kids did a great job on defense and really set the tone early," P-W coach Luke Pohl said. "Nick Spitzley really got off to a quick start for us, scoring 21 points in the first half.

Spitzley led P-W with 27 points and nine assists, while teammate Lane Simon finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Lay led the Shamrocks with 19 points.

"(P-W) is athletic, long and so skilled they can be hard to compete with," St. Pats coach Mark Scheurer said. "I am proud of our guys effort tonight, especially with a couple of players out due to injury and illness."

P-W (11-1, 10-0 in CMAC) will play host to Saginaw Nouvel Catholic on Wednesday in a non-conference match up.

St. Pats (5-8, 3-7 in CMAC) will be take on CMAC rival Fowler on Wednesday night at home.